Democrats

Most Oklahoma House Democrats showed real political spunk Monday when they walked out on Republicans after the GOP leadership refused to consider legislation that would mandate insurance companies pay for medical costs associated with autism.

State Rep. Joe Dorman, pictured right, a Rush Springs Democrat, used the word “totalitarian,“ referring to the GOP’s use of parliamentary procedures to deny a vote on the autism issue, and 40 House Democrats walked out of the chamber in a show of solidarity and protest. While the move didn’t budge Republicans, it did send a clear, powerful message that should be repeated often.

This is the message: Democrats continue to work on common sense and important “people” issues such as health care reform as Republicans attempt to push through dead-end cultural wedge issues and ideological-driven legislation, such as criminalizing embryonic stem cell research in the state or establishing a Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol. The GOP’s legislative agenda continues to give the state bad press on a national level.

The walkout also sheds light on how the GOP House majority is shutting down important debate on those critical issues facing Oklahomans that a majority of Democrats want to address and solve.

Democrats have been pushing Nick’s Law for two years now. The law would require health insurance companies in Oklahoma to cover the diagnosis and treatment for autism. The law carries the name of an 11-year-old Edmond by who has the condition.

The Republicans contends Nick’s Law could increase overall health insurance premiums, but Democrats argue there is no definitive proof this will happen and besides it’s an issue of medical urgency.

The GOP, instead, passed what some contend is a meaningless bill that would regulate behavioral analysts and increase training for autism therapists, which won’t matter much if the professionals can’t make money through basic health insurance coverage. The GOP bill was supported by a small number of Democrats who didn’t leave the chamber. This was after state Rep. Mike Brown, a Tahlequah Democrat, offered an amendment to the GOP bill that would have required insurance companies cover autism treatments.

Essentially, the Republicans make it a sick-versus-healthy issue based on the profits or what a recent editorial in The Oklahoman called “solvency” of health insurance companies. Their argument is that business profits/solvency for insurance companies trump personal health care needs. The Democrats make it a basic issue of human suffering and medical fairness. Under their argument, parents should be able to seek and find decent care for their autistic children without literally going bankrupt.

The GOP, or the so-called “family values” party, wanders in the philosophical darkness of denying children health care in Oklahoma, but outside the state a growing national majority long ago figured out the Republicans have a huge idea deficit. The state, as I’ve long contended, is now the junkyard or museum for dead GOP ideologies, which support corporate profits over people’s access to health care and religious intrusion in our lives.

Maybe more legislative Democratic walkouts can help bring about political change in Oklahoma. What can it hurt?

Two well-known Oklahoma Democrats, Attorney General Drew Edmondson and Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins, have indicated they plan to run for governor in 2010.

Both Edmondson and Askins have name recognition and are certainly competent for the job, but the dwindling number of liberals here in Oklahoma should note both candidates are centrist to conservative Democrats like current Gov. Brad Henry.

Askins even used the word “conservatively” in a letter to her supporters announcing her decision. In the letter, she writes the state needs to avoid its "unfortunate history of boom and bust without doing nearly enough to make sure state government operates conservatively and wisely in good times and bad."

Was “conservatively” a deliberate word choice to appease those right-wing Oklahomans who like to identify themselves as centrist or Democrat for some strange conflicted reason? You make the call. One can only wonder how more conservative the Oklahoma government can be these days?

On the other hand, Askins did talk about her support for education in her letter. She wrote: "We need to make college more affordable, not less." She also wrote, “"Far too many Oklahoma children are without health care and going to be hungry. There are tens of thousands while even one is too many."

Edmondson, to his credit, has faced the ridiculous and disingenuous right-wing noise machine. The Oklahoman, for example, published a ludicrous Sept. 3, 2008 editorial ("Nancy/Drew: Edmondson's rhetoric echoes Pelosi's") tying Edmondson’s views to those of President-elect Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“The more he reflects the views of Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, the more Edmondson's political ambitions will die on the vine,” according to the most conservative newspaper in the nation.

Anyone who brings the wrath of the Oklahoma corporate oligarchy upon them through basic political positions deserves some extra credit. Here is Edmondson’s Wikipedia profile.

What do you think? Is Askins or Edmondson the best Democratic candidate? Someone else? Vote on a poll about the issue. Feel free to leave a comment.

Former Gov. David Walters’ recent article “What’s The Matter With Oklahoma?” has generated some lively discussion in the Oklahoma blogosphere. The article was so provocative the Bush-loving, warmongering right-wing editorial board at The Oklahoman felt compelled to trash it. In the article, Walters suggests we come up with ideas to stop the conservative juggernaut in Oklahoma. So let’s start. Participate in an Okie Funk poll on the left by clicking here and voting for your best idea to turn Oklahoma blue. Feel free to leave a comment.